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Game 3 Part 1 Invasion of Io
Part 1 Invasion Scene: Stadium 8.10.2189, 1900 Hours, Early Day (Hot but fairly comfortable) While watching the game, Florence gets an alert on her data pad. It reads that the Ishtarian Chancellor, August Donner, has just died in his sleep. Not long afterwards, many people's data pads start to light up. Secondary news sources and rags are quickly pumping out conspiracy theories about the Chancellor's death, some blaming the Aphrodian government, others claiming its a false flag to start a war, while some are even claiming that he isn't dead at all. The news seems to be taking over everyone's attention, much more than the games. Oblivious to the commotion in the crowds, Switch and Ace scan the arena for Rakken's mech as they divvy up their winnings. Out of a pile of wrecked mechs, Rakken pushes his way out of his own broken suit. Shaken but unscathed, he takes a few steps before he notices his own data pad going off. Looking down, his face breaks out into a grin. In a second, he takes off towards the exit and rushes into the increasingly anxious crowd. News of the Chancellor's death is huge. He was one of the most famous (or infamous) commanders of Ishtar and the most vocal supporter of the Unification of Venus. Regardless if he was actually dead or alive, the news of his death signals something important and pivotal. The Chancellor had become the living embodiment of the Venusian Cold War. Though most of the Aphrodian spectators seem happy that the Chancellor is dead, it is obvious that there is a great unease growing about what will happen next. Almost like a sign, the crowds are met with a sudden deafening clamor. Wailing loudly, air raid sirens spark up across the city. For a few minutes, everyone is completely silent as they soak in the weight of the noise. Just as people are beginning to think that is was a false alarm, a massive shadow appears over head. Like a black cloud, an aerial armada of massive drop ships stretch across the sky, their bellies detailed in the flag of Ishtar. Event: Ishtarian Infiltrators * All of the characters are in or around the stadium. Ace and Switch are in their mechs in the arena. Rakken has disappeared into the crowds. * The players have a few minutes to decide what they want to do. * Interrupt with: The crowds have now completely lost control and are scattering in every direction. Very loud explosions and weapons fire can be heard, mainly from the north. Large gates to the arena are being opened up, easing the flow of civilians out while Aphrodian buggies, APCs, and a handful of mechs move into the stadium. They are finding difficultly moving as the crowds try to move around them. * Give the players a few more minutes to decide what to do or to carry out their plans. If the players try to escape from the stadium in a rush, create a distraction, such as an accident with the military or a stray rounds. * As the players try to figure out what to do, they are approached by some familiar faces: A man from out of the crowd grabs Florence's hand. Its one of the racers from the team that helped Moose find the weapon cache. He is a young handsome man with a strong build. He is still wearing his racing gear with his name and team: Casey Conway, Ionian Raiders. A few more of the team members start to show up, as well as a handful of their mono bikes. "I don't know where you are planning on going sweetie," he says, "But almost nowhere is going to be safe now. Me and the gang have somewhere that should be a good place to lay low for a while." * A History or Bureaucracy test of a 5 will reveal that Casey is the son of the Aphrodian Senator Jared Conway, a man who has made a name as a politician who fights for the rights of lower class citizens although he has been caught up in a number unsuccessful blunders that have given him a mixed reputation. * Senator Conway is a name that has appeared before in Dutch's notes many times (Moose Knowledge test at 5). Dutch had put money into a number of projects that Conway personally led, namely ones involving aid in the wasteland, though the largest donations he made were to a foundation for veteran's aid in Bergana. However, Conway's name also comes up in Dutch's notes as a liar and a cheat who cannot be trusted. * Give the players some more time to figure things out. Before they can act on anything, Interrupt with: Though the stadium is far from empty, it has cleared out enough that the Aphrodian armed forces have taken up a number of positions around the stadium. Large ramparts around the top of the stadium against the hill side have been lined with a number of anti-aircraft vehicles. Almost as soon as they finish their positioning, they open fire, blasting across the entire facility in a deafening roar. The tracer rounds sway back and forth as they try to intercept incoming aircraft. Down on the arena floor, a great shadow sweeps over top, temporarily blocking the powerful rays of the sun and cooling the air. It quickly flies past, riddled with flak fire and bursting with flames. Large chunks of its heavy armor scatter across the stadium, raining fire and metal. The colossal craft itself, however, drops low on its decent, shredding the top few bleachers off before disappearing over the railings in a torrent of explosions and smoke. * The falling debris is extremely hazardous. Roll a D6 for each player. On a 5+ they are at risk of being hit. Each player in the way must make an Agility test vs the falling scrap (1D6, 20xdamage). Even if the player doesn't suffer any damage, being hit has a D6 4+ chance of setting them on fire, causing another hit for every turn they cannot pass another Agility test (threshold 3). * One of the scraps lands on a fuel depot nearby the characters knocking over a few dozen fuel tanks, though not setting any of them off yet. If the players try to escape without the racer's help, the fuel tanks will blow, destroying a supporting wall that collapses and blocks their path. * An Aphrodian soldier nearby is yelling into his radio. Its hard to here what he is saying, but a piece of debris lands on him, nearly slicing him in half. His radio falls to the ground near a player's feet. * Any player that picks up the radio will hear the overall radio chatter as being completely dire. Ishtarian forces have landed throughout the entire city in a massive aerial drop (an uncommon and difficult maneuver on Venus). The major highways to the north, east, and west have all been cut off, while the roads to the south are currently holding position. There are reports that the Istharians are using a type of heavy weapon to blitz the Aphrodian positions. The voice on the other side is cut off with static. Another channel cannot be reached (Communications test threshold 3 will reveal that there seems to be some kind of jammer nearby). As those still gathered in the stadium are recovering from the raining debris, a second shadow overtakes the scene. The anti-aircraft guns seem less prepared with this second target, most missing completely. In return, large objects start to spill out the back followed by bright red parachutes with the sigil of Ishtar. The AA fire again is refocused, this time on the falling payloads. A couple are destroyed on their way down, but most survive intact. Dust swirls around from the landing, out of which Ishtarian Mech Hounds burst forth, spraying their fire across the Aphrodian defenses. * There are 6 Ishtarian Hounds, each armed with Autocannons and Rocket Pods. * There are 4 Aphrodian buggies with Machine Guns, 3 APCs with Machine Guns and Grenade Launchers, and 3 Mustang Mechs with Autocannons and Rocket Pods * The first wave of attacks will block off most exits to the characters. * If the players are trying to get out of the arena itself, the Ionian Raiders will help them. * Casey Conway will help the players avoid some of the chaos and leads them to the service hallways towards the interior of the facility. All other ways out are blocked. * Just as they are about to get out of the arena, a third drop ship flies by: Just as the crew manages to get close to the exit, a chunk of the stadium collapses and blocks the path. As the crew finds another way around, a third shadow swallows the arena. Once again the AA fires toward their target, but a Hound pulls into position and fires his rockets, slamming into the ramparts and destroying much of the structure holding it up. In a cascade, the AA weapons crash into the bleachers and topple to the arena floor. Without suppressing fire, the third drop ship delivers its payload unimpeded. Whereas the mechs seemed small coming out of their massive drop ship, this object is so large its hard to imagine it even fit inside. Numerous large parachutes control its decent, but even then its landing is buffered by retrojets that stir up the dust again. Out of the cloud, a thunderous blast cleaves the dust like an act of god parting the sea. In the distance, an Aphrodian APC is completely obliterated, metal and fire flying in every direction and sending out a concussive blast killing everyone inside. Its killer now stands unobscured by the dusty vale: a behemoth tank, perhaps better described as a weapon's platform. Almost like a parody of a normal tank, this beast is bristling with guns on all sides. Facing forward, however, it an incredible gun taking up the whole length of the vehicle, still smoking from its barrel. A smaller but still intimidating turret open fires in quick succession, ripping the arm off of an Aphrodian Mustang and completely destroying a buggy. The monstrous tank continues to fire with multiple weapons upon the Aphrodian forces, quickly taking them out with little effort. As its guns blaze, it moves ahead at a strong steady pace towards the hillside of the stadium where the anti-aircraft weapons once stood. With its oversized treads, it completely chews up the bleachers, digging its way up the incline like it was made of sand. * If the players have not been convinced of Casey's escape plan, force them to follow him as the Octo tank starts to pick off anything it thinks might be a threat. Event: Escape from the Arena Finally out of the open arena an into the service halls, the battle outside seems just slightly less threatening. Still, deep booming rumbles ripple through the stone and metal facility. Each blast dribbles little bits of plaster and rock to the grown. Every minute or so, the close and powerful main cannon of the Ishtarian super heavy tank goes off, causing the entire stadium to quake. Casey and his team of Ionian Raiders lead the team towards their personal garage. Casey explains that the older areas of the stadium use to belong to a larger network of tunnels and roads. The lack of development to the south of Io and the initial failure of the stadium meant that a lot of these areas were left finished but unused. With the tank taking position on top of the stadium, its likely that the southern roads have also been cut off, just like the others. However, the team is sponsored by a garage and scrapyard just a mile northeast of the stadium. The team can fit everyone on their bikes and buggies and take them there until things calm down. * If the players try to argue to go somewhere else, one of the other teammates named Miranda Miller will mention that none of that will matter until they find out what roads are open. Clearly the Ishtarians have the upper hand at the moment and their first move was to cut off the city. ** She volunteers to ride to the other side of the stadium to get a view of the city and find an open road. Casey argues with her that its too dangerous to go alone, but she comes back by saying that too many people will draw attention and slow her down if she bumps into Ishtarian troops. Casey convinces her to take someone else along. If nobody volunteers, she will choose Raltor, making a remark that he looks like he can handle himself better than any other man she sees here. * If the characters press Casey for details on the Junkyard, he will mention that its own and operated by a guy named Jay Hatchet. If none of the characters remember Jay, anyone will recall him on a Knowledge test of 5 (Switch will pass on a 3, Raltor will pass on a 2) as a former mechanic for Dutch's salvage. He quit right after the battle in the Gauntlet Desert saying that he has no ill wills, but only worked the job because Dutch asked him to. Scene: Ionian Raider's Garage The Ionian Raiders have a fairly decent sized private garage within the stadium. They are a mono bike team, and as such they have a number of bikes set up for repair and maintenance. The garage also houses three large buggies. A younger woman with the team begins to tend to the wounds of her friends, pulling out first aid kits from the lockers. Her uniform says Mina Cushing. A handful of the players pull out firearms from their lockers, though nothing more than 9mm pistols, knives, tire irons, and wrenches. Mina starts to berate them, saying that they are only going to make themselves targets. The Ishtarians won't attack civilians as long as everyone doesn't start fighting back. More than a few of the players mock her for not wanting to fight back against Ishtar, the people who invaded their city. Some of the other players agree with Mina and an argument ensues. * Their team leader, Casey, will try to settle them down but to no avail. * If any of the characters wish to intercede, they can try to use Theatrics or Bureaucracy at 4 to calm the team down. If the character fumbles, one of the team members will focus on the character and claim that they have no right to butt in. * As the team argues, gunfire can be heard nearby outside the garage and a few rounds will pierce the wall, striking one of the racers (light wound). A concussive blast knocks the door off its hinges and a two man team of heavily armored Ishtarian troops covers the room. *# If the team is calm, the Ishtarians will demand that they lay down their weapons. If the team complies, the troops will pick up the weapons and throw them into a duffle bag. The troopers will scan everyone's faces, but won't find anything important and will move on. *# If the team is not calm, the troops and the racers will start yelling at each other with guns pointed. If nothing is done to calm the situation soon, one of the racers accidentally fires his gun, hitting a trooper but doing no damage. The troopers will return fire. Scene: Outlook Miranda and (character) are riding together on her heavy bodied two wheeled motorcycle. The hallways are littered with rubble knocked loose from the fighting, but her skills as a rider are obvious as she weaves around them effortlessly. She takes the services halls that run around the circumference of the arena, trying her best to stay close to the gates without being noticed. In flashing glimpses, the open arena below is strewn with the wreckage of Aphrodian vehicles and the bodies of soldiers. Even more had apparently entered the ground floor only to be blown away by the massive Ishtarian tank atop the facility. As Miranda gets closer to the opposite end of the stadium, oily fires with choking clouds of smoke start to fill up the halls. Its getting harder to see through, which slows her down. Quickly, the clouds part to reveal the blasted side of the stadium. The cannon fire from the tank has chipped away at the structure, giving the mobile weapon an even better view of the city below. * Miranda will dismount her bike and pull out binoculars to scout the highways. It will take her a few moments to get her bearings and to discern any Ishtarian presences. * As she is waiting, have the character make a Notice check at 4. If passed, they will notice the sounds of footsteps and voices coming from the other side of the smokey haze. * The voices are coming from and Ishtarian forward observation team coming for the super heavy tank, consisting of three soldiers. If they stumble upon the characters, two of them will attempt to accost the characters before shooting, however the third soldier will immediately attempt to kill them. * Once of the troops have been dealt with, Miranda will be able to find a safe route. She sees that the first drop ship shot down by the AA weapons landed directly on the main road to the stadium, probably killing or trapping many of the civilians trying to escape. A smaller underpass road is untouched by the crash and will allow them to escape into the interior of the city towards their junkyard. Event: Escape from the Stadium With a route secured, the Ionian raiders load up the crew into their spare buggies and take off on the unused access road. The road is much lower compared to the highways above, hiding it from the majority of the fighting. A steady stream of sky blotting drop ships flies overhead, regularly delivering payloads to the invading forces. Cannons, bombs, and small arms fire sound off in all directions, punctuated by the signature booming roar of the super heavy tanks. Each powerful shot is followed by a silent retort as its targets are blown away with no hope of surviving. Flipping through the radio or trying to access the net through a data pad yields nothing. The Ishtarian forces must have destroyed or secured the major signal towers. Many of the racers are young, and though they are use to the violence of mono bike racing, its clear that the invasion is an existential fear of a wholly different kind. Not sure what to say or do, many sit staring at the fires breaking out in the city. * Though the ride is only mile away, the service road is littered with debris from above, some much older than that falling from the current battle. If any of the players are driving, they must pass a Driving test at 4 or their vehicle will get a flat driving on the rubble. If this happens, the racers will fix the flat in seconds and one of them will argue that they should drive. * About halfway through the ride, an intersection is blocked by a badly damaged Ishtarian mech laying on top of an Aphrodian APC which appears to be riddled with holes. Inspection shows that the APC is full of dead soldiers and the mech pilot is dead but that the machine is in at least minimal working order. If piloted, the machine can be moved from the road, but it is too heavily damage (-4) for real combat. * While the wrecks are being moved, a pair of Aphrodian buggies and an APC will appear from the other side. They will notice that the characters are civilians and will tell them to get off the roads. If the players ask them about the invasion, the soldiers will tell them that the city has been completely surrounded. The best hope any civilian has at the moment is to go home and wait until further notice. * If asked about the communications, they will say that the Ishtarians are currently holding all the major broadcasting towers. Right now, only military radios have service and even then jammers have been screwing up their signals. * As the Aphrodian soldiers talk to the characters, they get a call on their radio that another super heavy tank has landed in the city near their position. They start to leave when an explosion rocks their ranks. Two Ishtarian Hounds are speeding down a ramp to the intersection and have open fired on the Aphrodian forces. Part of the highway gives way, destroying the direct route to the junkyard. Another blast wedges between the racer's buggies followed by the Hounds. Though they are not directly attacking the race team or the characters, the melee between them and the Aphrodians causes a lot of chaos. ** The characters can rush around the combat but must make a Combat Sense test at 5 in order to stay out of the line of fire. If failed, they must roll a Dodge test against D6 at 20x damage. ** If the characters wish to move more cautiously, they can make a Combat Sense test at 3, but it takes longer so they must roll twice. * Once the players manage to get around the fighting, they can head to the junkyard. Scene: Hatchet's Junkyard 8.10.2189, 2000 Hours, Early Day (Dusty and cloudy, hot and muggy) Speeding down the last stretch of the service road, the roads overhead and the buildings around thin out across a strip mined corner of the Ionian hillside. About a square kilometer of ground is occupied by sorted stacks of scrap. Amidst the artificial hills and valley stands a very large skeletal structure. The scaffolding supports a number of cranes on a grid to move and sort the scrap. A complex of office trailers sit atop a large hanger next to the crane system, dwarfed by its massive size. On a few of the structures, bright neon signs spell out "Hatchet's". A great deal of dust is hovering around the city as well as columns of smoke everywhere. The air is thick with it. The sounds of warfare have died down significantly, though it is ever present. The deep bellowing of the super heavy tanks have become very sporadic, and have instead been replaced with a low rumbling of an unseasonable storm brewing. The clouds become dark to the point of blotting out the sun completely. As the rain finally breaks, the heat cools off. The water is sharp in flavor and slightly burns unprotected eyes. As the buggies approach the hanger, a weathered man walks down a long thin stairway from his office. He is dressed like your average grease monkey, but he has a strong look in his eyes. On one side of his overalls is the company logo, Hatchet Motors, and on the other his name, Jay Hatchet. "Get the hell in here already," he says sternly. "And who the hell are these people? I'm not here to be taking in every begging stray that comes to my door. Well come one, hurry up and get everyone inside." * Hatchet used to work for Dutch and was good friends with him. Anyone will recall him on a Knowledge test of 5 (Switch will pass on a 3, Raltor will pass on a 2) as a former mechanic for Dutch's salvage. He will recognize Moose if no one can recognize him. ** Hatchet actually didn't like working on the road looking for salvage, but he followed Dutch wherever he went. When the authorities apprehended him, he went back to his old job working at his junkyard and motor shop. He always owned the place but had his nephew, Lenny, run it while he was gone. ** Hatchet walks with a noticeable limp because he lost his leg in a war on Earth, though he doesn't usually talk about it. ** Hatchet feels very conflicted with Moose because he doesn't lend his personal trust too easily, but he did trust Dutch immensely. Dutch did give Moose the company, but Dutch isn't around to speak for himself, so Hatchet is very skeptical of who Moose is and what his intentions are. ** If Moose reminds him that Dutch and Moose's brother had a relationship, Hatchet will say that he wasn't aware of it and doesn't know who he is talking about. * Hatchet will agree to let the players stay at his junkyard for the time being, at least until the authorities (whoever they will be) tells people its OK to move around again. * If any of the players decide to leave before official word is heard, open fighting will break out and block them. Sneaking by is possible, but the streets will be dangerous. ** Hatchet will explain that the junkyard holds little strategic value and is wide enough to stay clear of the urban fighting. He will mention that the worst fighting has died down and that now its just scuffles and street fights. Scene: Curfew 8.10.2189, 2200 Hours, Early Day (cool, shady, slightly acidic rain) After about two hours of waiting, sitting through the cool, dark rain and watching the occasional missile or shell sail across the city, the air raid sirens begin to turn back on. But instead of an oscillating wail, a single unbroken tone plays. The loud sound lasts for about a minute before shutting off. Very soon afterwards, alerts begin to pop up on people's personal data pads. They all read, "The military of Io has fallen. Ishtar has taken the city. All citizens are instructed to stay indoors for a curfew of 24 hours. During the curfew, no one other than Ishtarian forces will be permitted outdoors or they will be immediately apprehended. All Aphrodian government employees, military, and hired security are hereby order to lay down their arms, safely approach the nearest Ishtarian unit, and turn themselves in. If you are a government employee and you are in your current residence or place of work, remain where you are." * Traveling during the curfew can be dangerous. Every time a character wishes to change location outside of the junkyard, there is a D6 4+ chance that a patrol will be in the area. If there is no patrol, the character's can travel freely. If there is a patrol, every character in transit must pass a Stealth test or Streetwise test vs the Patrols Sensors (2D6+1). ** If detected, roll a D6 to determine the patrol **# Drones- Two gun drones and a camera drone. Camera drone will film for two rounds before it determines the threat high enough to alert another patrol. Roll again on this chart and new forces show up in 4 turns. **# Soldiers- 2x Heavy Armored Soldiers **# Soldiers- 5x Light Armored Soldiers **# Soldiers- 2x Medium Armored Soldiers w/ Attack Felisaurs **# APC- 1x Light Armored APC w/ 5x Light Armored Soldiers, Gunner, and Driver **# Mech- D3 Light Armored Mech ** Patrols will not fire upon unarmed civilians and will try to arrest them for breaking curfew. Patrols will not hesitate to fire back if threatened or engaged. ** Getting arrested will freeze up the character for about a day while they are processed. If the character has no record, they will be released. If they have a record (Dr. Swayze) and cannot hide it, they will be held for further questioning. If Florence is arrested, she can easily convince them to let her go right away (Influence test at 3). If she fails, they will hold her longer, but will let her go after about half a day. * Casey will faun over Florence whenever they are together. He will attempt to seduce her at least once, preferably when they are alone. If he can pass a Seduction test (D6+1) vs Florence's Willpower (0), he will capture her eye just enough that he will acquire a "favor" from her, which he can use to force her hand at some point, though he is a fairly good character. She might not like it, but he got into her head a little bit. ** If Florence hasn't figured out that Casey is related to the Aphrodian Senator, Jared Conway (History or Bureaucracy test of a 5), he will admit to her that he is worried because his father was at work when the invasion started. He's not sure what the Ishtarians have in mind for him, but that it sounds like they are rounding up all the politicians. ** Senator Jared Conway is a man who has made a name as a politician who fights for the rights of lower class citizens although he has been caught up in a number unsuccessful blunders that have given him a mixed reputation. ** Senator Conway is a name that has appeared before in Dutch's notes many times (Moose Knowledge test at 5). Dutch had put money into a number of projects that Conway personally led, namely ones involving aid in the wasteland. However, Conway's name also comes up in Dutch's notes as a liar and a cheat who cannot be trusted. ** Casey will ask people to help him go look for his father. His teammates tell him that its too dangerous and that the Ishtarians have probably already apprehended him. Not satisfied with their answers, Casey begs the players to help him. He is use his favor on Florence if necessary, asking her to find him help, which she will volunteer for if nothing else. ** If anyone attempts to go to Senator Conway's office, the government building will be swarming with Ishtarian military. ** If anyone attempts to go to the Senator's home, it will be vacant and tossed. An Investigation test of 4 will reveal an exposed wall safe that is open and mostly empty aside from a handful of Mark notes left behind in a hurry. Passing with a degree of success will also reveal that there is a busted wall where the Senator had been hiding something but the Ishtarians found it in their search. The hole in the wall is large enough for a briefcase. Looking through the Senator's itinerary, he was planning on leaving Io and visiting the city of Bergana to the south to attend a function for veteran's aid the day of the Invasion. * If Moose tries to make contact with his company (based in Nazareth), he won't be able to get any kind of reply. Likewise, communications are down in Io, so he cannot contact his office in the city either. If Moose manages to physically get to the office or sends someone there, they will find that his office building has taken heavy damage and is currently inaccessible. Scene: Occupation 8.10.2189, 2000 Hours (scattered rains, sky is clearing and sun is quickly warming up the terrain) After 24 hours, a second message appears on everyone's data pads. It reads, "In one day, the Ishtarian military has wrested control of Io from the corrupt and complacent government of Aphrodia. The 24 hour curfew is now lifted. An 8 hour curfew between 2000 hours and 0400 hours in in effect starting this shift. The remaining members of the Aphrodian government have agreed to cooperate. All Ionian military and police forces are hereby ordered to follow Ishtarian command. The roads in and out of the city will not be opened until command determines that all forces are in compliance." "This is goddamned bullshit," one of the racers exclaims. "Now the cops and soldiers are working for Ishtar? They couldn't handle an invasion, but they can turn their guns on Aphrodian citizens now?" Miranda is particularly stern looking as she hears the news. She spits on the ground and sneers, "Of course they will, they never took care of this place before, why would they start now." She stares outside for a second, then grabs her riding overalls. "I'm going for a ride." "Don't you think that's dangerous? There's a curfew," Mina asks. "Nobody follow me," Miranda says. * If Raltor is around, she will quickly change her mind and ask him if he wants to come with her. If Raltor isn't around, she will try to find him and ask him to come with her. If Raltor doesn't want to go with her, she will tell him that she grew up as an Aenean. Although she has fit in nicely with the urbanites, she will always have a distrust of them. He is the only person she thinks she can trust to ask for advice at the moment. ** Assuming Raltor is with Miranda, she will drive him to a nearby hill that has a good vantage point of the stadium. She doesn't say much to him, but she stares hard at the tank, a warning beacon pulsing red above it, making it stand out against the dim light. After watching it for a few minutes, she tells Raltor that the Ishtarians won't win, even if the military won't do anything about it. She asks him if he has ever felt like he could risk his life for something. ** She asks Raltor to keep a secret. She knows that Hatchet is hiding weapons somewhere in the hanger. She saw some Aphrodian soldiers selling him some on a few occasions, but she can't figure out exactly where he is hiding them. She wants the weapons so that they can try to take out the tank. The stadium and the games have become one of the only things that truly matters to her, and the invasion and the tank have taken that all away in an instant. ** If Raltor tries to convince her that the tank is too powerful for whatever Hatchet has stocked up, she will get offended and say that she made a mistake thinking he could understand what she was fighting for. ** After talking, she will take them back to the junkyard and begin to look for Hatchet's weapon stash. Miranda and Raltor return after an hour. She seems more focused and energized than when she left. In an almost frantic pace, she scours the hanger, looking in every corner and under every piece of furniture and equipment. * Miranda is looking for the weapon stash. She will avoid Hatchet while doing so. Any player near her will easily notice that she looks motivated to find something hidden in the hanger, though she will be very hesitant to talk about it to anyone, not even her own teammates. She will eventually find the weapons in a hidden location beneath a hang out area near the makeshift sleeping quarters. She calls her fellow teammates around and shows them her haul. Hollering out for all to hear, Miranda yells, "Now that's what I'm talking about. These don't look like mono bike parts to me." With a break area table pushed aside and the rug thrown over, Miranda stands over a secret hatch and smiles as she pulls up a large assault rifle. She tosses it to her nearest teammate and reaches in for more as everyone piles in. The Ionian Raiders laugh and play as they pull out gun after gun. Miranda stares patiently until she finds what she is looking for. Happier than ever, she carefully lifts up a rocket launcher and mock aims it towards the stadium. "Put those guns down, your gonna kill somebody," Hatchet yells as he limps into the hanger, his nephew Lenny by his side. "That's exactly what I was hoping for," Miranda replies. Hatchet gives her an angry look. "Yeah? Well put em back. They're not toys for you to play with." "I think you'd have a lot of explaining to do if the authorities found out about these. So I'm going to help you out a bit and borrow them for the time being. We'll take them off your hands so you won't have anything to worry about." "And just what do you think you are going to do with em?" Hatchet snaps back. "We are going to take back our stadium from that fucking Ishtarian tank" Miranda is now staring at Hatchet with an almost insane look in her eyes. She is clearly consumed with the idea. "You see this?" Hatchet asks to everyone, lifting up his pant leg. Underneath is a metal cybernetic limb. Its an older model but its sturdy design has lasted him well. "I lost it on Earth. I was a soldier, and me and some buddies, we tried to take on a group of tanks. We got one of em, but then they got my friends and my leg. So don't pick a quarrel with the military. They have far better weapons and training than you ever could. So put em back before they think your serious." Miranda doesn't look phased at all. In fact, she seems even more motivated after hearing Hatchet's story. "You may have lost your leg old man, but I've still got two good ones. And as long as I'm still standing, I'm going to do whatever it takes to blow that tank the fuck away. So unless you plan on doing something to stop me, I suggest you go back to your office and crack open another beer." Hatchet looks at Miranda quietly, looks over everyone in the room, and then turns angrily away towards his office. Lenny follows behind, frantically asking Hatchet what the weapons are for. With Hatchet out of the hanger, Miranda turns to the crew. "Now that that old cooter is out of our way, its time to make a plan."